This invention relates to latching mechanisms for doors of steel lockers, cabinets and the like, and more particularly to a latch housing adapted for mounting in an opening in the front surface of such door for defining a recessed area in which access is provided to a latching mechanism for the door.
Door handles and locks which protrude from the surface of locker doors can be dangerous to those moving in close proximity to the locker. This is a particular problem in school hallways, locker rooms or other areas of the school in which rough-housing may occur. Moreover, a locker having a protruding door handle can be easily jimmied enabling the locker to be forced open. The protruding door handle can be securely gripped and forced to move far enough to unlatch the locker door, even though the handle is supposedly locked in a fixed position.
To eliminate these problems, locker doors having recessed pulls have been proposed. With such arrangement, the door latch release mechanism, as well as the door lock are contained within a recessed pan and do not protrude from the surface of the locker. Since the door latch release is located within the top of the pan, the locker cannot be jimmied because there is no protruding handle which can be gripped to enable the door to be forced open.
Although the use of recessed pulls affords greater safety and security, providing such recessed pulls for locker doors results in increased cost both in manufacture and assembly of locker doors having recessed pulls. For example, assembly of the pan on the door may require welding or the pan may be installed using nuts and bolts or other hardware to securely attach the pan to the door. Either method results in increased labor costs.